“I would love to say that we knew all the answers in advance, but the truth is that we discovered our product and opportunity, rather than planning for it.”
— Stewart Butterfield
Co-Founder of Slack, Former CEO & Creator of Flickr

The quote archive

Innovation

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

What I realised was, that in studying other manufacturing companies, in particular Toyota, I could see that their mechanism for distributing responsibility and pushing it far down the organisation turned them into a creative enterprise! This is the opposite of what most people think, which is that the purpose of manufacturing is to reliably produce the same thing over and over again.

— Ed Catmull

Co-Founder of Pixar & Pioneer in Computer Graphics

I think of creativity very broadly, for me it's about solving problems. A lot of people put creativity into the narrow bucket of artistic expression; including film-making, creative writing, music and so on- but there are many who understand that if you look at science and engineering, there are many very interesting problems that require creativity and you see a great outpouring of new ideas.

— Ed Catmull

Co-Founder of Pixar & Pioneer in Computer Graphics

These are the kinds of digital services that have been technologically available for 25 years but just haven't been implemented anywhere. Basically, for scalability all you need is more servers.

— Toomas Hendrik Ilves

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

If you have a start-up, you start out with an idea, but in 6 months you realise 'that wasn't the right idea'. This is how truly creative companies work. Nobody can do that with EU funding because you are locked-in to your original proposal – and because of that no-one I know in the start-up world wants money from the EU.

— Toomas Hendrik Ilves

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

More important than picking specific industries, what matters is ensuring competitive and innovative companies that are able to compete in international markets.

— Antonio Costa

Former Prime Minister of Portugal (2015-2024)

We believe that entrepreneurship is indispensable for the emergence of innovative companies that allow for the diversification and renewal of our economy, ensuring sustainable economic growth and the creation of qualified employment.

— Antonio Costa

Former Prime Minister of Portugal (2015-2024)

We adopted a National Strategy for Entrepreneurship: Startup Portugal. A strategy that aims to make Portugal the ideal space to create, test, fail and try again.

— Antonio Costa

Former Prime Minister of Portugal (2015-2024)

If Leonardo Da Vinci could somehow be transported to the present, he would be blown away by the level of knowledge that's available to all of us by a simple press of a key. It follows that we all have the opportunity to be on the level of Da Vinci or Franklin because we all have access to so many different forms of knowledge.

— Robert Greene

Author of "The 48 Laws of Power" & Strategist

Machines are pushing people to new frontiers, and teach us that complacency and the status-quo are not working.

— Garry Kasparov

World Chess Champion & Political Activist Against Russian Authoritarianism

In rich countries, 'innovation' often means finding a better way of doing things. But in developing countries, it can mean finding a way to do things at all.

— Melinda Gates

Co-Founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Health Advocate

An object must be useful before being beautiful.

— Philippe Starck

Renowned French Industrial Designer & Architect Known for Innovative Product Design

It sounds strange but my system came to me in a sort-of almost otherworldly way. It was very powerful.

— Jordan Belfort

Stock Broker Convicted of Fraud; Subject of "The Wolf of Wall Street

From a global point of view, we are currently in the middle of a technical revolution similar to what our grandparents experienced when everybody switched their horse carts for cars. The same is happening now and it is a phase of transition for many businesses.

— Nico Rosberg

Former Formula 1 World Champion, won 2016 title with Mercedes

Having grown up and worked in this environment, I strongly believe there is a solution to everything as long as you are not willing to accept a status quo and constantly look for better results.

— Nico Rosberg

Former Formula 1 World Champion, won 2016 title with Mercedes

Humans often come together by believing in ideas that may only exist in our imaginations. We have an ability to imagine together, to merge our ideas as a collective, which can slowly move us toward a future once believed to be impossible. This is part of what changes us from being simple animals to a group that will soon travel to Mars and perhaps even further. To me that is magic.

— David Blaine

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

You have to keep reaching, keep thinking about what the next-level is.

— Will.i.am

Grammy-Winning Producer, Rapper & Innovator from Black Eyed Peas